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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Garage sale trellises

Over the weekend on the way to the beach with the grand kids, we detoured off the road to find a garage sale, and just as we were leaving I saw these wooden trellises propped up against a dresser. At one dollar each I thought I could definitely use a few. I picked up five - maybe I should have got more as now I can imagine all sorts of projects.....

We did our bit to clean up the beach and brought back some yummy seaweed for the compost.... along with some ash from a fire. That always gets the compost chugging along nicely. My bin is starting to split - It is three years old, but I tend to push against that side when stirring it up. At the end of the wet season I will empty it out and turn it around. That should give me a few more years.

The pumpkin vine was not offering up any more pumpkins so out it went - also into the compost! On went a layer of mulch - this hay mulch is quite messy but at only five dollars a bale it is a good deal.

Someone was not too happy about me spending too much time out in the back garden.... the little honeyeater would dart around chirping and telling me that she wanted to get back to her nest.... I am not sure if they are using it or not - normally they would just ignore us when we went out there. Personally I think her house could do with a title tidying up.

At the end of this winding path is where I plan on using three of those trellises......

Stephanotis corner: I am going to build an arch for the Stephanotis to climb over and hopefully attach the orchids to the sides. This is all a rather messy corner, so I need a bit of a plan.

1. do I paint the wood? What colour? that blue pot looks nice - maybe a bright feature there would be nice. I think it might protect it from the elements. They are not very sturdy, but the stephanotis vine is not heavy so I think it will be ok. I will raise it up off the ground on bricks. The iron archway I originally wanted was way out of my gardening budget.
2. Do I put it an an angle diagonally - like the bamboo the orchid pots are hanging on - or flat against the gate?
3. The orchids are in a mismatched set of pots, so I was thinking I might at the same time make some little wooden pots for the orchids.
It looks as though this will be my Christmas holiday project... do you have a gardening project for the Christmas holidays?

18 comments:

SCORE!!!You lucky girl! Those trellises have lots of potential and at that price, you did well.Enjoy planning your garden projects. Keep in mind though that as the stephanotis gets bigger it will get sturdier and heavier.Thanks for reminding me that it's time to gather some seaweed from the beach for my garden too.

I am hoping the stephanotis will not get too heavy. they have tendrils that they wind around everything they touch, so hopefully that tends to reinforce it! lol. There is something quite wonderful about gathering seaweed - enjoy it!

Wow! What a great bargain those trellises were. They look sturdy enough to have a few more good years of use in them. I do have a few Christmas/winter garden projects to do. I need to move a handful of shrubs that I planted too far away from the fence. Here in the PNW the early winter/late fall is a good time for moving plants.

Well done on the trellises. I've been looking for something like that myself. Must start going to garage sales! The blue looks good in that corner and stands out so I agree a bright feature would attract the eye and look good I think. I don't know about the angle. I have so many gardening and house projects planned for Christmas but know I won't get through half of them. :)Good luck with yours

I also think blue would be nice, and am thinking right against the gate instead of crosswise. That might also support it. I never get to the end of my "project list" as I always seem to be adding more to the bottom.

That is really an exciting project - Christmas or not.I'm very certain whatever that you choose blue or a trailing plant - it will still look gorgeous.So - enjoy and find the best what you enjoy most in seeing the garden according to your liking.Cheers!

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Quotes I enjoy

Shipping is a terrible thing to do to vegetables, they probably get jet-lagged, just like people do - Elizabeth Berry

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" Philippians 4:6-7

The secret of happiness is not found in seeking more,

but in developing the capacity to enjoy less

- paraphrased from Socrates quote

“See how nature—trees, flowers, grass—grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence. We need silence to be able to touch souls.” – Mother Teresa

Nature in all its diversity grants us a glimpse into the heart of God the Father which is nothing but Love.

It is not what you look at that matters, it is what you seeHendry David Thoreau

Making a garden is not a gentle hobby for the elderly,to be picked up and laid down like a game of solitaire. It is a grand passion. It seizes a person whole, and once it has done so he will have to acceptthat his life is going to be radically changed. May SartonPlant Dreaming Deep, 1983

When the trees sing,It doesn't really matterIf you know the song, Or if you know the words,Or even if you know the tune.What really matters is knowing ....That the trees are singing at all.Mattie Stepanek, 1990-2004

To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walkor an evening saunter;to be thrilled by the stars at night:to be elated over a bird's nestor a wildflower in spring... these are some of the rewards of the simple life.John Burroughs, 1837-1921

Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder…”– Thoreau

“Exercise is a dirty word. Every time I hear it I wash my mouth out with chocolate.” ~ Charles M. Schulz

You who walkmaybe with troubled thoughts....Come, enter here and restand may the sweet serenityof growing things....and the heavenly peacebe mirrored in thy soul.by Michael Palmer

Gods GardenThe Lord God planted a gardenIn the first white days of the world,And he set there an angel wardenIn a garment of light enfurled.So near to the peace of HeavenThat the hawk might nest with the wren,For there in the cool of the evenGod walked with the first of men.And I dream that these garden closesWith their shade and their sun-flecked sodAnd their lilies and bowers of roses,Were laid by the hand of God.The kiss of the sun for pardon,The song of the birds for mirth, -One is nearer God’s heart in a gardenThan anywhere else on earth.For He broke it for us in a gardenUnder the olive-treesWhere the angel of strength was the wardenAnd the soul of the world found ease.Dorothy Francis Gurney

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.Mary Jean Iron

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.Albert Einstein

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time."~ John Lubbock******************************************************